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To date, you have probably never paid taxes on the purchases you make online. That's OK, as a tiny percentage of people remember at the end of the year to account for the things they buy on Amazon or eBay, but if a new law passes, this will change. This means buying a shirt online will probably be taxed similarly to how it would be taxed in a bricks-and-mortar store.

The Marketplace Fairness Act, which seems to be supported by the Senate and Obama administration, will give states the ability to tax Internet sales starting as soon as 2014. The Senate will vote on the MFA following their recess next month. In other words, this is moving quickly and will probably be passed (as long as the House of Representatives approves it).

There are a few reasons this is happening right now: If passed, this bill could result in as much as $24 billion to states that haven't enjoyed taxes from online purchases. Amazon used to be against this tax, but now it is supporting it. EBay, on the other hand, is fervently against it. Time reports that eBay chief executive officer John Donahoe said, “the legislation treats you and billion-dollar online retailers—such as Amazon—exactly the same.” This sounds a little dramatic, but you get the idea. Also, at this point, I think eBay is probably too late to stop this train from moving.

The bottom line: I hope you've enjoyed avoiding taxes online so far because things are about to change. But look at it this way—we've gone this long without paying a little extra, right? I'm just trying to find the bright side to all of this (as an eBay addict, this won't be easy to adjust to!).

What do you think of this proposed bill? Should we have to pay taxes for our online purchases?